Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 850 (1): Leverage

Irritated, Ye Jiuyou cast a grand purification spell, intent on resetting the pool to its original, pristine state.

Zhao Changhe would never understand why cultivators who had long since mastered spells capable of cleansing entire oceans and continents still insisted on bathing in water, yet here they were.

The spell took effect and the slimy filth was gone. Yet, something about the pool still felt different. It no longer held the same silent, abyssal stillness.

Ye Jiuyou paused, frowning as she sharpened her senses.

There was indeed something new in the water. Once, this pool might as well have been called death incarnate. Any lifeform thrown in would have perished without a trace. But now, there was a budding vitality, a faint undercurrent of life. If left to evolve for long enough, it might even birth life on its own.

“So this is their idea of messing with me?” Ye Jiuyou muttered. Strangely, she did not feel irritated. On the contrary, the water now felt more comforting than before—warmer, somehow, or at least no longer cold and dead.

If anything was offensive, it was that disgusting slug-texture earlier. That had been unforgivable.

She extended a delicate hand, brushing the water’s surface, watching gentle ripples spread outward. She was not even sure what she was thinking anymore.

A jade bracelet hung on her wrist, gleaming against pale, translucent skin. She gazed at it as though it belonged to someone else.

When she scrubbed her neck, her fingers brushed the necklace. So many things now clung to her, and she was not quite used to it. And yet, the discomfort she expected never came. Rather, everything simply felt... a little less dull than before.

“So when you look into the mirror, it’s no longer just death and darkness staring back.”[1] Zhao Changhe’s voice echoed in her mind. A sudden frustration surged up. She slapped the water hard, sending a fountain of droplets flying skyward.

And then she froze. This kind of emotional turbulence had no place in someone like her, someone who had cultivated alone for tens of thousands of years.

Drawing a long breath, Ye Jiuyou rose from the pool. Her usual dark robes appeared automatically over her body.

She stood before the Soul-Capturing Mirror. She frowned. Something felt off.

After a moment of hesitation, she stripped off the dark robes and changed into the violet dress instead.

In the mirror, the woman looking back at her was enigmatic and striking, mysterious and alluring. She looked... better.

So it wasn’t just human aesthetics at play. Still, the key is... does it matter? Do I care?

Ye Jiuyou’s brow was furrowed for quite a while, then she dismissed it all. The bracelet and the necklace vanished. Her clothes reverted to black. She exhaled, finally feeling more like herself. She had learned a lot today, whether about darkness, life and death, or chaos and rebirth. Once one’s perspective reached such a scale, much of what she had done... began to feel meaningless.

This is the gap between myself and Ye Wuming... and the gap between myself and Zhao Changhe.

Even if her cultivation surpassed his, in some aspects, Zhao Changhe was already ahead of the entire world. That was why he had become the executioner who stood beyond the constraints of the Heavenly Dao. The gods and demons who were once regarded as unkillable were slain by him as easily as brushing dust off his sleeves.

Once, she had been one of those gods he had intended to cut down.

As she pondered, the mirror’s surface began to ripple. Her reflection disappeared, replaced by a memory: she and Zhao Changhe walking side by side through a bustling street. He was buying cotton candy, sunlight spilling over his smiling profile.

Then he turned to her, eyes bright as he said, “You’re what matters to me.”

Bang!

Ye Jiuyou slammed her palm into the Soul-Capturing Mirror, shattering it to pieces.

“A mere shard of a broken mirror dares to try and capture my soul?!”

She kicked the fragments far into the distance, but then scowled in frustration. Great. Now I don’t even have a mirror left.

...Wait, I do have a mountain.

With a grunt, Ye Jiuyou summoned the mountain, reshaping it into a full-length mirror. She nodded in satisfaction, only to freeze one moment later.

Before, it had been just a shard, so no matter what she saw, it could not really affect her. But now, this was the whole thing. If it showed her something again... would it give rise to inner demons? Could it truly capture her soul?

What kind of cursed nonsense is this?!

Gripping her head, Ye Jiuyou groaned. Finally, she flicked her fingers, conjuring a clean ice mirror to replace the Soul-Capturing Mirror.

There. I can make my own mirror just fine...

However, this mirror was infused with the essence of the Four Idols she had sensed within Zhao Changhe; specifically, it was the essence of the Black Tortoise. This meant that no matter how she looked at it, she found it unbearably annoying.

After all, the current Black Tortoise was some busty, wide-hipped lazy woman.

What’s the point of being that busty anyway? He should already be back at the Heavenly River by now. Is he rolling around with all those women while I’m here, alone, staring into a mirror?

Ye Jiuyou inhaled sharply, again and again, then finally stormed out of her sanctuary. Along the way, she caught sight of a group of mindless corpse puppets standing guard. Her irritation boiled over. “You just stand there like rocks, can’t you even pretend to be human?!”

With a kick, she sent one flying.

Had it been alive to feel confused, the corpse puppet would have died of confusion.

Ye Jiuyou returned to the snowy peak and sat cross-legged under the moonlight, eyes closed in meditation. Somehow, the snow helped her feel calmer, sharper.

This was odd.

The Abyss of Jiuyou was far colder, but perhaps it lacked something. There was neither snow nor moon in the abyss. It was too barren, too empty, too meaningless.

Suddenly, golden light flashed across the sky. The long-dormant Rankings of Troubled Times was finally updated.

The sixth month, Zhao Changhe and Piaomiao jointly entered the Heavenly Demon Illusion Realm, capturing Papiyas alive and subjecting him to several days of searing confinement in a Buddhist pagoda before being released. Weakened, Papiyas was pierced by Snow Owl and fell. The essence of the Heavenly Demon was then absorbed by Snow Owl.

Papiyas, 6th on the Ranking of Demon Gods, is hereby removed from the rankings.

The ancient White Tiger emerged. Ye Jiuyou, the Sword Emperor, Snow Owl, and Zhao Changhe all vied for the legacy, but Han Wubing fused with White Tiger in the end.

Han Wubing is thus removed from the Ranking of Man and listed among the Ranking of Demon Gods as White Tiger Han Wubing.

Amid the ensuing chaos, Han Wubing retreated with a severed arm, and Snow Owl was slain by the Sword Emperor. Although bearing the true spirits of both Dark Oblivion and Papiyas, Snow Owl’s soul was then destroyed by Piaomiao.

Snow Owl, 4th on the Ranking of Heaven, has fallen.

The following portion listed successor rankings and replacements, but Ye Jiuyou could not be bothered with them. What caught her attention was the realization that Piaomiao was clearly still busy at that moment. This meant that she was not among those engaging in Zhao Changhe’s more indecent activities.

That makes sense. With Piaomiao’s cold disposition, how could she possibly do that kind of thing in front of everyone?

* * *

Ye Jiuyou was only half right.

Zhao Changhe was indeed doing indecent things. However, he was not doing so with the voluptuous and lazy Black Tortoise. No, his partner, at least indirectly, was none other than the famously indifferent and aloof Piaomiao.

Cui Yuanyang truly did want to return home. The recent adventures had provided more than enough excitement. She felt unsuited for the ongoing chaos of gods and demons and would rather spend time with her parents and lend aid to Tang Wanzhuang. Of course, before she left, she was determined to drain her husband dry, lest all his affection go to those curvaceous enchantresses instead.

Yet it turned out those enchantresses were all too focused on their own pursuits to care. The real victim of her scheme was Piaomiao.

The Four Idols each occupied their designated positions, fully immersed in recalibrating the formation. Piaomiao, seemingly apart and unbothered, sat nearby absorbing the true spirits of Dark Oblivion and Papiyas. But in truth, her body was trembling, and her jaws clenched in quiet agony.

Her lovely face flushed as vividly as spring blossoms. All that ancient seniority and composure had long since flown beyond the highest heaven.

She stole a glance to the side. The others were starting to notice. A few were giving her strange, sidelong looks. Piaomiao knew these women were no fools; they were the foremost cultivators of this era. The slight tremble of her body was no different from dancing on a stage in their eyes.

She could not take the ambiguous glances any longer. Fleeing the scene in frustration, she heard their whispers trailing behind her.

“So, Big Sister Piaomiao really can’t hold back either, huh?”

“It’s not surprising. They’ve only recently gotten together, after all. Remember how we were in the beginning? We couldn’t peel ourselves off him either.”

“Speak for yourself. I was perfectly composed back then.”

“Yeah, right. You were the first one to jump him. Shameless.”

“Xia Chichi, are you looking for a beating?”

“Hehe, I’m feeling itchy all over...”

“Are you really an empress?”

“What, is that unbecoming of an empress? Even ancient demon gods get itchy.”

Piaomiao nearly died from embarrassment. She had originally wanted to find a place to hide, but now she could not even be bothered. With a surge of fury, she dove headfirst into the Heavenly River and seized Cui Yuanyang, who just happened to be in the midst of her own tryst.

“You lustful rabbit! I’m suffering because of you!”

Cui Yuanyang, dazed and flushed, murmured, “Ah? Big Sis, I’m sorry, did you want to join us?”

“I...”

“Didn’t you come here for that?” Cui Yuanyang’s body slackened, her voice soft. “Come on, I can’t take it anymore...”

If you can’t, how am I supposed to? Piaomiao was just about to retort when Zhao Changhe’s hand reached out and clasped her wrist.

“Since you’re already here...”

Already pushed to the brink by the sensory overflow from the shared senses with Cui Yuanyang, Piaomiao could no longer resist. Soon, she was pulled into his arms, lips captured in a kiss that spun the heavens and dimmed the stars.

1. Just a small note that these exact words were never said; they’re just an expression of what Zhao Changhe would have said. ☜

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺